Business and Economic Environment (E3)

Professional engineers in information technology are among the few professionals who must potentially have an understanding of how businesses work, even in the most basic of positions. Recent graduates can find themselves engaged in projects or activities that require them to have a working knowledge of the following aspects of business: financial accounting, accounts control, cash management, production planning, stock management, logistics of distribution and supply, human resources, and customer service, in addition to many more. Again, as we enter an age dominated by globalisation, an understanding of economic phenomena has become a necessity for many professionals, as being able to comprehend and foresee economic phenomena can play a key role in the world of business. It is for this reason that this subject has been designed to provide students with a basic, descriptive and general but all-encompassing understanding of all of the different functions of companies and the most relevant aspects of the economic environment that influences them.

Knowledges

1. Learn basic economic concepts, the aims and tools of political economy, its impact on economic activity, and the basic principles of international trade.
2. Learn about business processes in the fields of Management, Human Resources, Administration and Finances, Sales and Marketing, Production, Logistics, and Systems.
3. Learn about the benefits of applying ICT to business processes, and the functions and objectives of the various technologies now being applied.
4. Basic notions of organisational design and operations.

Abilities

1. Learn the significance and implications of financial information. For example, ability to grasp the significance and repercussions of news in the business section of a newspaper.
2. Ability to glean information on business processes from all parties involved in a computing project.
3. Ability to understand organisation charts and a manual on business processes.

Competences

1. Ability to logically argue the decisions taken, work done, or a given viewpoint. Ability to give well-reasoned opinions with a view to convincing others.
2. Ability to understand and constructively criticise presentations given by others.
3. Ability to relate and structure information from various sources and thus integrate ideas and knowledge.
4. Ability to work effectively in small groups to solve problems of middling difficulty.
5. Ability to effectively convey one"s ideas in writing.
6. Intellectual curiosity and openness.
7. Assume responsibility for one"s own work.

Lectures are mainly used, supplemented where necessary with exercises and examples on each theme.



Students need to reflect on exercises and/or examples. This reflection can take various forms: open debate; development of the example; teacher solution of the problems in which students take part with suggestions, questions, and comments, etc.



Groups will spend an hour a week sharing their views on the material dealt with in class and debating them. Students will then write a report . They will take it in turns to act as critic. These reports do not need to be very long. The critic"s role is to analyze and constructively criticise the content and style of classmates" contributions. The critic will then either pass on his written comments and recommendations to the rest of his classmates, or make otherwise make them none in one of the sessions. Each group will take it in turns to choose one of the reports for publication in the class Web forum. The teacher may, at his discretion, provide incentives in the form of prizes for the best reports. Although the prize will be awarded to the report"s author, it will be shared with other members of the group.

The assessment will be based on the following items:
EXP1 midterm exam for part 1
EXP2 midterm exam for part 2
EXF1 final exam for part 1
EXF2 final exam for part 2
EC assessment of the continuous study based upon the follow-up exercises that will be proposed, taking part in the exercises' debate sessions and other participative activities that the teacher deems appropriate.

There are two ways to be assessed

Continuous Evaluation
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Grade = 0.30*EC+0.35*EXP1+0.35*EXP2
EC=0 if the percentage of delivered exercises < 75%

This will be the grade only if:
(Grade >= 5) I (EXP1 >= 3.5) I (EXP2 >= 3.5)

If the foregoing condition is not met, students will have to sit either the whole final exam or one of its two parts. Students will be required to take final exam parts where they obtained a grade under 5 in the midterm exam. The grades obtained (EXF1 and/or EXF2) will substitute EXP1 and/or EXP2 respectively, as the case may be. The grade obtained is calculated using the following formula:
Grade = 0.3*EC+0.35*[EXP1 o EXF1]+0.35*[EXP2 o EXF2]

Final Exam
==========
Students may always choose to base their course grades exclusively on the final exam - i.e. according to the following formula:
Grade = 0.5*EXF1 + 0.5*EXF2

• MOCHÓN, F. Enonomia, teoria i política, MGH, 1993.
• TUGORES QUES, J. Economía Internacional, Globalización e Integración Regional, McGraw-Hill, 2002.
• MAYNAR, Pilar et al. La economía de la empresa en el espacio de educación superior, McGraw-Hill, 2007.

• SCHILLER Principios Esenciales de Economía, McGraw-Hill, .
• GALBRAITH. J.K. Historia de la economia, Ariel, 1993.
• EKELUND, R. Historia de la teoría económica y su método, McGraw-Hill, 1992.
• ESCRIBÁ; BLANCO; GALÁN Introducción Práctica a la Economía, McGraw-Hill, 1994.
• BUENO CAMPOS, Eduardo et al. Economía de la Empresa. Análisis de las decisiones empresariales, Ed. Pirámide, .

1. http://www.bde.es/infoest/indeco.htm
   



2. http://europa.eu.int/comm/eurostat/
   



3. http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/euro.html
   



4. http://www.ine.es/
   

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